17 September 1944: As Allied armies advanced out of the Normandy bridgehead after three months of deadly combat in the hedgerows of the Cherbourg peninsula and the farmland south of Caen the need to establish new logistics bases became more and more acute. In mid-September, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division found itself outside the fortified port of Dunkirk while the 3rd Division arrived at Boulogne. The Germans would prove themselves adept at holding on to these vital port facilities for extended periods, some of them withstanding sieges until the end of the war in May 1945. Dunkirk would be one of them, and the Allies were required to “mask” the port with artillery units deep in the rear of 1st Canadian Army while the war passed them by.Boulogne was to be a different story. The 3rd Division, battered during the long campaign in Normandy, was to fight through the tough ring of defences which included the heavily fortified heights of Mont Lambert, and seize the port facilities of Boulogne. To assist them, a full array of specialized armour and engineering vehicles were made available to them, including the newly created armoured personnel carriers of the 1st Canadian APC Squadron (soon to be expanded to regimental status). With flail tanks to clear the way through the minefields, AVsRE to blast German bunkers, and flame tanks to eliminate strongpoints, The North Nova Scotia Highlanders were ordered forward in the wake of a massive aerial bombardment by almost 700 four-engine bombers. They began to scale the heights of Mount Lambert as a “dummy run” of bombers swooped in low over the mountain, forcing the Germans to cover and away from the triggers of their weapons…
- Play: Solo as Canadian vs. German AI in either real time or turn-based play.
- Map size: 2608m x 2048m
- Force size: reinforced infantry battalion
- Game length: 2:30
- Terrain Type: wooded farmland, hilly
- Weather and environmental conditions: warm, hazy.
- Notes: Built in version 3.10 (i.e. Engine 3.0 with Vehicle Pack. Should not require Market Garden.) Inspired by two ASL scenarios (CAW11 “Operation Wellhit” and ASL 108 “Kangaroo Hop”), this CM battle was designed using additional historical, order of battle and map research from the Canadian Army official history as well as real world contemporary aerial photography and current topographical data. Additional detail also from Terry Copp’s”Cinderalla Army,” including sketch of German dispositions from contemporary Canadian Army defence overprint map.
- Short Description: Lifebuoy and Croc flamethrowers, AVsRE, Flails and Kangaroos from the Vehicle Pack assault Mount Lambert in September 1944. Solo as Canadian vs. AI.
Michael Dorosh
About Author
Reasonable challenge. Good scouting pays. Do have a question, though. Had significant issues with the Churchill AVRE’s. After one shot, the main gun and usually the MG would be greyed out in the damage chart, and neither would fire. The status showed a green box, which signals it’s all OK. Tried CE to see if that would make a difference, but it didn’t. Any ideas here?
The challenge was, of course, the minefields, and getting the right resources to destroy the bunkers. However, finished the battle with over an hour remaining, so maybe the defenses need to be bolstered a bit? Thank you for the battle. The map was great, and I appreciate your effort.